


Soonyoung, The Teenage Witch

by gothwoozi



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, BAMF Jihoon, Enemies to Lovers, Evil Vampires, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Mentions of Death, Protectiveness, Secret Crush, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, but like, minor jeongcheol, no character death tho, super happy ending tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-17 10:03:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16972509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothwoozi/pseuds/gothwoozi
Summary: In his meager year of practicing magic, Soonyoung has at least understood there are some powers best left unbothered. Some forces one doesn’t want to mess with.Lee Jihoon is most definitely one of those forces.orthe witch au in which Jihoon and Soonyoung are from different covens.





	1. 17 years old

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NotJustAHoeForHoshi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotJustAHoeForHoshi/gifts).



> Alright, here's the shake down on this universe. It's basically somewhat of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch rules (the old one, not the knew one) where certain people are born with magical powers, but they can't use them until they become of age (16 years old). When a witch becomes of age, they are allowed to choose a coven to join, but most choose their family's out of loyalty. Finally, I actually know very little about actual witchcraft, so bear with me on this.
> 
> There will be three chapters, one where soonhoon meets at 17 yrs old, one at 19 yrs old, and one at 21 years old. 
> 
> Enjoy!

**October 31, 2013**

 

“Soonyoung!” Seungkwan scolds in bossy voice. “You’ve had 3 of those Big Gulp Slurpees already! Are you trying to die of heart disease?”

“Bite me!” Soonyoung snaps back playfully. Their other friend, Seokmin, is just silently laughing at the exchange. “I haven’t had junk food since I joined the coven. High Priestess is always going on about how ‘processed sugar and chemical-laced foods cloud your energy and negatively affect your magic.’ I just want to eat a chili-cheese dog, dude!”

“If you want to eat your chili-cheese dog, eat it,” Seungkwan waves him off, as they weave in-and-out of crowds of people. “But, don’t complain to me the High Priestess gets on to you for it.”

Speaking of food, Soonyoung takes in a deep whiff, smelling all the carnival food within the little space. He loves carnivals. Watching the Ferris wheel flash neon colors against the black night sky reminds him of a time before he became of age.

Before, he was initiated into the coven…

“Do you guys ever miss not practicing magic?” Soonyoung wonders out loud, tucking his cold hands meekly into the pockets of his jean jacket. 

“Not really,” Seokmin answers, then grows a mischievous smile on his face, “because I would no longer be able to do  _ this _ .”

He pulls them to a secluded spot behind one of the unoccupied game booths. 

Seokmin holds out his hands for the two of them to see. Soonyoung can  _ feel  _ Seokmin exerting his magical energy. A small lilac fog begins forming in his hand, but it goes no farther. Finally, the fog condenses to an orb of gas hovering slightly over his palm. There is a loud crack, then suddenly a violent flash of black lightning. 

It’s silent for a second. 

Droplets of lavender water begin falling in the orb. 

Then, the orb dissolves into vapor, as if it never even existed. 

“Weather simulation,” Seungkwan hums in approval, nodding his head. “Very nice.”

“Thanks,” he responds, beaming with pride. “I’ve been working on that spell for at least two months.”

“And, you didn’t even need an incantation,” Soonyoung mumbles, dumbstruck. Apparently, his friend was more advanced than he was. “Impressive.”

Seokmin opens his mouth to say something else but quickly shuts it when something in the distance catches his eye. 

“Holy shit!” he exclaims, pointing towards what looks like a control room for one of the rides. “Is that Lee Jihoon?”

The both of them immediately snap their head in the direction their friend is gesturing towards. There’s a short, black-haired teen approaching the steel door of the control room.

“Oh fuck,” Seungkwan mumbles under his breath. “I think it is.”

“Isn’t his coven based in Seoul?” Seokmin mutters skeptically. “What the fuck is he doing in Gwangju?”

Soonyoung’s never had the pleasure of meeting Jihoon before, but there isn’t a single witch in South Korea who doesn’t know his name. He was only initiated a year ago, but his family has been making him study magic since the day he was born. The amount of magic they know is nothing compared to Jihoon’s. Some of the best oracles predict him taking over his coven in 2 or 3 years.

In his meager year of practicing magic, Soonyoung has at least understood there are some powers best left unbothered. Some forces one doesn’t want to mess with.

Lee Jihoon is most definitely one of those forces.

“Let’s follow him,” Seokmin commands boldly.

“Fuck no!” Soonyoung spits back. “His coven practices black magic! What if he attacks us?”

“You’re pretty good at casting forcefields,” Seungkwan mentions offhandedly. 

“Not against Lee Jihoon!”

“Guys, look!” Seokmin demands, pointing towards the subject in question. 

Jihoon looks around him to make sure nobody’s watching. When the coast is clear, he places both of his hands on the steel door of the control room. It shakes for a moment, then a black portal appears in the door. 

“Come on!” Seokmin directs in a whisper, hurriedly approaching the control in a crouch. Soonyoung only follows because he doesn’t want to abandon his friends. 

Jihoon steps inside the portal, but it lingers for a moment behind him. 

The trio rush towards it before it closes. Soonyoung’s heart is pounding.

When they enter, all Soonyoung can register is a whooshing noise. The rest of it is a gut-twisting blur. 

They all land on their asses on an overcast, deserted beach. A big yellow moon hangs over the dark waters ahead, signifying something  _ off _ about this place. It’s completely unnatural. Soonyoung has only seen the likes of during rituals involving powerful magic.

He looks around at his surroundings. There’s a rundown house on the shore. It’s the kind of house those paranormal investigators that humans love so much would visit.

“He has to be in that house,” Seokmin claims, rising off the ground and wiping sand off his jeans. “Let’s go.”

Soonyoung only scowls, knowing that arguing at this point is useless. Against his best judgment, he follows his friends, trudging along in the sand. 

He  _ knows _ it’s gonna be impossible to clean all of it out of his sneakers later. 

“You guys are the worst,” he mutters under his breath, not expecting either of them to hear him. 

“And, what were you planning to do for the rest of the night?” Seungkwan asks snidely in a teasing voice. “Ride the Haunted House for the 5th time?”

Soonyoung pulls on the sleeve of Seungkwan’s letterman jacket in retaliation, halting the other right in his tracks. 

“At least, I know the monsters in the Haunted House are  _ fake, _ ” he hisses, glaring at both of his friends. “We have no clue what’s inside that house.”

“Might as well find out, since we don’t know how to get back without Jihoon,” Seokmins replies matter-of-factly.

_ Oh fuck,  _ Soonyoung thinks. 

He hadn’t even  _ considered  _ the fact that  _ none  _ of them are advanced enough to produce the smallest of portals yet, much less one to take them from this unknown location back to the carnival. 

Seokmin peers at him with his hands on his hips, awaiting an answer. Awaiting a signal to go ahead with this  _ horrible plan _ .

In return, Soonyoung just grimaces at him for a moment before uttering his assent.

And before he knows it, he’s approaching the wooden steps to this dilapidated and  _ most definitely haunted  _ house. 

They creak as each of them walks up, making Soonyoung even more uneasy than before. 

_ Sure… he’s a witch… but he’s a healer for fuck’s sake!  _

He only has a very basic knowledge of dark magic, but he understands that whatever Jihoon is here for  _ must  _ be hostile.

The front door has the numbers “112” on it, but no knocker. It seems there used to be one, but it was removed by blunt force. Furthermore, there are claw marks on the bottom of the door and even a few bloodstains. 

Soonyoung  _ really  _ doesn’t want to go inside this house. 

But, before he can protest even further, Seokmin opens it, revealing a Victorian style parlor to them. Soonyoung isn’t sure how old this house is, but there are dust and cobwebs  _ everywhere.  _

Finally, Seokmin steps into the threshold, and there’s no going back. They’ve committed to this. To discovering  _ whatever  _ is in this house. 

Timidly, Soonyoung trails in behind them, fixated on the family portraits on the wall. They are all in black and white. 

“Guys! Look!” Seungkwan calls in a hushed whisper. They both walk over to the spot where he’s standing. “A cellar door!”

There is indeed a cellar door… with red mist flowing out from under the cracks. 

“He has to be in there,” Seokmin determines, opening the metal door to reveal a staircase leading down. There’s a red glow at the end of it. 

“Please no,” Soonyoung mumbles with knitted eyebrows. Seungkwan and Seokmin ignore him, walking towards the light. 

The closer they get, the easier it becomes to hear someone uttering incantations. 

They creep along silently, hoping to avoid detection.

Suddenly, the chanting stops. 

“Who’s there?” a teenage voice demands, dripping with venom. 

All of them stay silent. 

“I really do not like repeating myself, but you leave me no choice,” the voice says again. Suddenly, the cellar door slams behind them. “Who are you? Reveal yourselves! If you’re the ones who caused this mess, you’ll have to face the consequences.”

All of them glance at each other in confusion, and only now, Seungkwan and Seokmin are beginning to look as worried as Soonyoung. 

“Reveal yourselves,” he demands again. “Or, I’ll be forced to do something drastic!”

Knowing the kind of power Jihoon has, Soonyoung definitely doesn’t want to chance it. He just wants to get it over with and apologize to the guy five million times, so he can get the fuck out of here.

Slowly, Soonyoung begins walking down the steps, till he’s in sight. The other two are shocked, but they follow closely behind. 

In the center of the cellar, there’s a summoning circle painted with spray painted. On the wall, there’s a number of words in Latin spray painted in black ink. Several candles are lit around the room, and horrifyingly enough, it reeks of rotting flesh. 

And, at the worst of it all, an obviously annoyed and pissed off Jihoon stands before him in wine red ceremonial robes. 

He has no clue what black magic entails, but he  _ really  _ doesn’t want to know now. 

“Were you the ones who drew this circle?” he interrogates, forming a fireball in his hands. Soonyoung thinks it’s sort of funny, because it matches the exact same expression in his eyes. 

But, also terrifying. 

So terrifying that Soonyoung has a difficult finding his voice to speak. For the most part, he’s frozen stiff, but his hands are trembling like leaves in autumn.

He genuinely tries to answer, but only weird noises come out. So, Seokmin answers instead. 

“No?” he replies in confusion. “This is the first time we’ve ever seen this house. In fact, we were just at the carnival 10 minutes ago, so there’s no way we could have done this.”

Soonyoung’s eyes widen. He just watches in horror as Jihoon’s glare grows sharper, and the flame in his hand flares violently. 

“You followed me here?!” he barks lowly with his nose scrunching up as his face contorts to a grimace. 

“Shouldn’t we be asking the questions here?!” Seungkwan finally snaps back, just as visibly annoyed as Jihoon is. “We don’t know what kind of black magic you’ve been practicing down here, but we should report you and your coven! Why was there blood on the fronting door?!”

It’s silent for a moment, except for Seungkwan’s heavy breathing and the sound of Soonyoung’s heart pounding in his chest. 

For just a second, Jihoon drops his guard for a look of dumbstruck. 

“Who are you?” he asks sincerely, dropping the malicious voice from before. “How do you know about magic and covens?”

“We’re witches too,” Seokmin answers. 

A beat of silence. 

“Prove it,” Jihoon commands skeptically. 

“Only if you do as well,” Seokmin compromises.

Jihoon looks for a moment as if he’s about to argue, but he just rolls his eyes and nods in agreement instead.

Seokmin reaches for the crystal tucked underneath his t-shirt. Every coven in the area has a special stone signifying a witch’s membership. He glances at Seungkwan and Soonyoung, silently instructing them to pull out there’s as well. 

Simultaneously, they pull their amethyst crystals from their hiding spots, brandishing them for Jihoon to see. Then, Jihoon reaches underneath his robe, revealing a garnet stone. The stone of the Seoul coven. For a moment, Soonyoung observes the contrast between their stones. Theirs are ones of serenity, peace, and healing. While, his is one of violence, aggression, and war.

It has never struck Soonyoung until now how different their two covens are. 

Quietly, Jihoon studies at their crystals, seeming to be deep in thought. 

“You three are healers,” he comments under his breath towards none of them in particular. Suddenly, the glare is back on his face, and the venom is back in his voice. “Do you have any idea what kind of magic I was performing down here?! This is no place for kids like you.”

In that instant, Soonyoung’s no longer terrified of this guy. Rather, he’s just downright annoyed. 

“Kids?” Soonyoung scoffs, rolling his eyes. “We’re practically the same age as you! I understand that you think you are hot shit, because you’re supposed to become High Priest of your coven. But, I see you for what you really are! A condescending prick!”

Both Seungkwan and Seokmin snap their gaze to Soonyoung, staring at him in shock. Their mouths are hanging open. 

Jihoon briefly has a similar expression, but it’s quickly replaced with irritation. 

Before he can snap back at Soonyoung, there’s a rumbling noise from behind him. 

Suddenly, the stone within the summoning circle starts crumbling, falling to the earth beneath it and revealing a fiery glow. 

“Oh fuck,” Jihoon shouts, ignoring them to run back to the circle. He slaps his hands down on the intact stone outside the circle, and an energy begins emitting from them. 

Then, a low roar followed by inhuman screeching sounds comes from the gaping circle. 

Hurriedly, he shouts his incantation, trying to fight off whatever’s trying to claw its way up. 

“I can’t close it by myself!” Jihoon yelling, exerting himself to the max. For a second, Soonyoung thinks he can even see tears glimmering in the other’s eye. “Please help!”

“We’ve never done anything like this before!” Seungkwan screams back in panic, unsure what to do. 

“Healers learn to clot blood, right?” Jihoon cries. The roars begin growing louder. “Gather around the circle and exert the same energy you would to clot blood! We need to close the portal!”

The other two immediately rush to Jihoon’s aid, releasing all the energy they can muster. Scared, Soonyoung stands in the same spot for a minute, unable to gain the courage to move. 

“Earth to Soonyoung!” Seungkwan shouts. “There are some hell-beasts currently trying to claw their way up to the surface and eat our faces! Your help would be much appreciated!"

Soonyoung snaps out of his stupor, rushing towards the circle. He places both of his palms on the stone and releases as much magical energy as he possibly can. Everything he’s learned about healing the human body, he applies to this portal, hoping it’ll close. 

Finally, the stone starts to reassemble, and the fiery red glow slowly disappears as the roars grow quieter and quieter. 

Then, nothing…

It’s quiet for a moment. 

Seokmin breaks out into disbelieving laughter, still running on adrenaline. 

“We did it!” he announces. “Holy fuck! I can’t believe we did that!”

Seungkwan groans and collapses onto the cold floor underneath him. 

“I’m so tired,” he whines like a petulant child. “I want to go home.”

Soonyoung glances to Jihoon who seems unbothered by the whole ordeal, as if he does this sort of thing often. He stands up and brushes dust off his robe. 

“Why were you here tonight?” Soonyoung wonders out loud, staring at Jihoon. 

At first, it doesn’t register with Jihoon that Soonyoung is talking to him, then his attention snaps to the other. 

He’s staring at Soonyoung with the same intensity. Also, it may be in Soonyoung’s imagination, but he  _ swears _ he sees Jihoon look him over as if he’s genuinely intrigued by him.

“Some teenagers decided it would be fun to summon demons, since it’s Halloween,” he answers boredly. “Father instructed me to come clean up their mess and close this portal.”

“Father?” Soonyoung asks in confusion. 

“Yes… father,” Jihoon answers. “The High Priest of my coven is my father.”

Soonyoung isn’t sure what to do with this information, but he feels like it may be important. He doesn’t say anything further on the matter. 

“Care to give us a ride back?” Seokmin asks him sheepishly. “We can’t open portals yet.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes and utters what suspiciously sounds like “babies” under his breath. But, he agrees. 

From this point on, Soonyoung is conflicted on how he should feel about Jihoon. Everything about him is  _ so  _ unlikeable, but for some inexplicable reason, Soonyoung desperately wants to like him. 

He wants Jihoon to be a redeemable character. 

  
  



	2. 19 years old

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention this previous chapter, but this fic is for my oomf, holly! if you see this note, holly, I really hope you're enjoying the story so far.
> 
> Woooooo!!! this chapter is a bit long, so strap in boyos!! 
> 
> translations for all incantations are at the end notes.

**August 29, 2015**

 

Soonyoung has vague memories of attending a wedding when he was 5 years old. He remembers very vividly how his parents would herd him everywhere from getting dressed to getting in the car. He remembers picking at his bowtie irritably, as he and his parents traveled all the way his aunt’s wedding in Busan. 

Nearly 14 years later, all these recollections come flooding back to him, as he watches his close friend, Seungkwan, scowling into the mirror while dressing in his deep-red velvet ceremonial robe. 

“These smell  _ ancient _ ,” he groans uncomfortably, thinking of forgoing the wedding altogether and skipping to sneak into the latest shit movie. Soonyoung just silently laughs at his friend’s pain, ignoring the fact the High Priestess is going to come barging into their room any minute with a robe just like Seungkwan’s. For the time being, he just relaxes on his bed in his t-shirt and shorts. “When was the last time these were worn? 1515?”

Suddenly, a door opens, and Seokmin walks in from their shared bathroom with a horrified look on his face. He’s wearing the same kind of robe Seungkwan is.

“At least, you don’t have to wear this fucking flower crown,” he retorts, pointing vehemently at the entanglement of wisterias and various wildflowers on his head. He immediately slumps onto the foot of the bed Soonyoung is laying on. “Why did I agree to be Seungcheol’s ring bearer?”

“Because you’re a good friend?” Soonyoung tries cheekily, knowing it would piss both of them. Just the sight of him relaxing in his pedestrian clothes was enough to make them want to hex him with boils. But, they’re good friends, so they don’t.

“Where’s your robe?!” Seungkwan demands, screwing his face into a judgmental stare at his friend. When Soonyoung starts laughing, Seungkwan tosses a pillow at him. Narrowly, Soonyoung avoids it by moving his head, causing it to slam against the headboard of his bed. He’s howling now. 

“Knock-knock,” they hear. All of them turn their heads simultaneously to see Chan standing in their open doorway with what are presumably Soonyoung’s robe slung over his arm. His expression is oddly serious for somebody his age. Just last year, Chan was initiated into their coven, but he seems to take the traditions much more seriously than the rest of them. 

He clears his throat awkwardly, still not sure how to behave in front of his seniors. 

“High Priestess sent me to bring you this robe, Hyung,” Chan directs at Soonyoung, causing the other’s giggling face to instantly drop into a grimace. “We had to dig through the cellars to find it, so it may or may not smell like bat droppings.”

Soonyoung chances a glance at Seungkwan and Seokmin. Now, they’re bearing the shit-eating grin he had only moments ago. 

“Thanks, Chan,” Soonyoung grumbles, standing up to take the robe from the younger. As soon as he does, the other jets off, probably to make sure other aspects of the wedding go well. 

Before Soonyoung can even close the door, Seungcheol finds his way into their room. Unlike their red velvet robes, he’s wearing one of deep black. The open robe reveals a white-button down shirt as well as a pair of black slacks. Soonyoung can see product in his black hair, something the High Priestess doesn’t allow often. 

“Well, isn’t it the man of the hour!” Seungkwan announces with genuine warmth in his voice. Seungcheol beams at his friends, obviously excited yet slightly nervous. 

“Hyung, I hope your robe smells better than ours,” Seokmin jokes, leaning back on the bed with his palms supporting him. 

Their hyung smiles at them knowingly, as if he has some sort of secret. 

“I have a spell to solve that problem,” he claims confidently, both hands tucked into his pocket. 

_ Somehow _ , Soonyoung thinks.  _ He always manages to act so cool.  _

“Now would be a great time to show us!” Seungkwan blurts. “Soonyoung’s robe literally smells like bat-shit.”

Soonyoung doesn’t even have time to shoot Seungkwan a glare, because before he knows it, Seungcheol is speaking again. 

“We can’t have that at my wedding,” he chuckles, rolling up the sleeves of both his shirt and his robe. “Watch this!”

In concentration, Seungcheol screws both his eyes shut. 

“ _ Ad fontes a capite ad calcem,”  _ he murmurs under his breath in incantation, repeatedly chanting the phrase. 

Slowly, a dark green mist begins creeping in from the cracks in the windows. They watch in awe as the mist floats in and fills the room. It has a crisp, fresh scent – almost like an untouched babbling creek surrounded by a pine forest. Benignly, the mist wraps around their bodies, lingering for a moment.

Finally, Seungcheol states “consummatum est,” and the mist is creeping back out the window from whence it came. He opens his eyes and smiles cheekily at his younger friends. 

“Well?” he asks expectantly.

They each sniff their robes which now smell exactly like the mist. Each of them turns to stare at Seungcheol in admiration who just stands there proudly. Soonyoung really doesn’t understand how Seungcheol makes a simple cleaning spell seem so cool. 

None of them understand where Seungcheol’s poise comes from, but it’s the reason they’ve looked up to him since each of them were inducted into the coven. Somehow, he manages to be everybody’s cool older brother. 

“Oh!” Seungcheol exclaims as if he just remembered something, shaking them out of their stupor. He pulls something out of the pocket of his slacks. Upon further inspection, Soonyoung notices it’s a wedding band with an amethyst gemstone. Seungcheol looks at the ring with teary eyes, and the room is very still. He approaches Seokmin and tucks it safely into the other’s hand. “That was my grandfather’s, so be careful with it.”

“Of course,” the other mumbles mystified under his breath. 

Seungcheol turns on his heels to leave. As he’s at the doorway, Soonyoung calls his name. 

He whips his head around to look at the other. 

“Good luck!” each of them calls to him. 

He smiles softly in response and utters a small “thanks” before exiting and closing their bedroom door behind him. 

 

******

 

Like ducklings, the High Priestess begins shepherding all of them single file outside of the house into their small backyard where they grow healing herbs such as sage and saffron. As each of them exits the house, they put on their hoods to hide their identities from any nearby humans. 

It’s not as if they’re performing any malignant rituals. Rather, humans tend to become violent towards forces they can understand, and as healers, each of them has only very few knowledge of offensive spells. 

A heavy full moon looms over them, very pale in comparison to the streetlamps which line their block. Soonyoung takes a look at his watch. 

It’s 2:26 a.m. 

A dog howls in the distance. 

Silently, all 10 of them stand in the grass and watch as the High Priestess opens a black portal, much like the one Soonyoung saw Jihoon conjure nearly two years ago. 

“ _ Semper apertus, _ ” she mumbles under her breath, focusing all her energy into opening the gateway. 

Once it’s open, she turns to the others, subsequently blocking the entrance. 

“I want all of you to be on your best behavior,” she remarks solemnly, directing her gaze at Seungkwan, Seokmin, and Soonyoung in particular. Soonyoung should be affronted that she has to address them like children, but he can’t blame her. At heart, the three of them are still very young. He’s not sure when they’ll grow out of their immaturity, but he doesn’t really want to. Adulthood brings troubling times for practicing witches. 

The High Priestess lets down her hood and puts her hand comfortingly on Seungcheol’s shoulder. Without the hood, Soonyoung can see ceremonial wisterias threaded into her long black hair. There’s a twinkle in her eye as she directs her attention towards Seungcheol and offers him a warm smile. 

“This is a big night for Seungcheol,” she utters softly to no one in particular. It’s almost… motherly. 

The aforementioned smiles back, mouthing a silent “thank you” and placing his hand over hers. 

After a second, Seungcheol breaks away from her touch and enters the portal. She stands politely to the side, ushering each of her witches in and to the otherside. It takes awhile to get to Soonyoung and his friends, as they cross by seniority. 

“Before any of you know it, one of you might be getting married,” she mentions as the trio finally stands in front of the portal. It’s also… motherly. 

“I haven’t even graduated high school yet,” Seungkwan groans, rolling his eyes and stepping inside to escape the smothering atmosphere. 

“I think I need a girlfriend first,” Seokmin teases, and surprisingly, the High Priestess laughs a little bit. Then, he follows Seungkwan in suit, disappearing into the portal. 

Soonyoung doesn’t have any witty response like his friends, rather he just stares at her bewildered. She gazes back at him with calm, gentle eyes, as if she knows something he doesn’t know. 

He’s heard stories of her practicing as an oracle in the past, but that couldn’t possibly mean anything now. Right?

_ Right! She’s just trying to do The Mom Thing _ , Soonyoung thinks, reassuring himself. 

Without responding, he steps inside the portal. 

 

******

 

By witchcraft tradition, weddings are supposed to be carried out in the woods, as witches are supposed to “return to their natural states when they join souls.” 

_ Whatever that’s supposed to mean,  _ Soonyoung thinks. 

So, the portal brings them to a clearing in the middle of woods. Towering pine trees surround them on all sides, protecting them from any intruders. In the center of it all, there’s a large pyre just waiting to be lit. 

It’s only them for a moment until 5 more portals open around them. Suddenly, several other covens come flooding out, bring the total population up to at least a hundred. 

Normally, weddings aren’t this large, but it’s rare for witches from separate covens to be married. Soonyoung supposes other covens come to watch for the novelty of it.

On the far side of the clearing, Soonyoung can spot Jihoon stepping out of a dark gateway, followed by others from the Seoul coven. 

For a moment, the latter glances in Soonyoung’s direction, and their eyes lock. In the past two years, his appearance hasn’t changed much, but instead of black hair, Soonyoung can see dark red bangs peeking out from underneath his velvet dark green hood. It also seems he’s shed some of his baby-fat over the years. 

Though, the most striking difference was his eyes. He’s always had dark, serious eyes, but they carried an expression Soonyoung couldn’t identify. 

At that moment, Jihoon looks Soonyoung over, before quickly turning his head away to address the blonde headed man next to him. 

The portals begin disappearing one-by-one as witches begin mixing into the crowd to socialize with their friends from other covens. Disappearing like the portals, Seokmin leaves their secluded spot to get ready for his duties as ring bearer. Meanwhile, Seungkwan, Soonyoung, and Chan just stand awkwardly by the tree-line, unfamiliar with other witches outside of their coven. 

They’ve never needed to befriend anyone else, because they’ve always had each other. 

“Friends! Family!” the High Priest from the Seoul coven calls boomingly on the congregation. “Let’s commence the ceremony!”

The High Priest turns away from the crowd for a moment, directing himself towards the pyre. 

“ _ Hic sunt dracones igni ferroque, _ ” he chants for all to hear, and in an instant, a great crackling flame engulfs the pyre, illuminating the whole gathering in a warm red glow. Everyone cheers in response, but abruptly stops when he holds up his hands, signalling them to silence.

“Today,” he announces loudly. It’s deathly quiet except for the crickets chirping in the late-night air. Everyone, including Soonyoung, listens with rapt attention. “We come together to join the Seoul coven and Gwangju coven in marriage, through Seungcheol and Jeonghan. For too long, white and black magic have been separated, restricting the limits of our power. But, no longer!”

At the center, Seungcheol stands with the blonde-headed man Jihoon was talking to before, holding both of his hands. Both of their hoods are lowered, as they stare at each other. 

Slowly and hypnotically, the full moon rolls in so its position is directly over their clearing. 

The High Priest sprinkles a circle of salt around the two, protecting their union from all evil spirits. 

“ _ Nec metu, stet _ ,” he calls out, beginning the ceremony. The High Priestess of their coven approaches the couple and begins flicking a liquid from a crystal jar at them. Soonyoung thinks it may be the sage infusion he mixed earlier. He personally likes sage, because it tends to be the “cure-all” herb. 

“ _ Hinc itur ad astra, semper ad meliora.” _

He turns his attention towards Seungcheol first.

“Do you promise to protect this union at all costs?” he asks.

Without hesitation, Seungcheol answers seriously.

“Of course.”

“Even in the face of death?” 

“Of course.”

Then, he turns and asks the same of Jeonghan. Unsurprisingly, his answer is the same. 

“The rings!” the High Priest demands. 

Both Seokmin and Jihoon approach, offering the rings to the couple. 

First, Seungcheol puts his ring onto Jeonghan’s finger, then the other does the same. 

“ _ Consummatum est! _ ” the High Priest finalizes in complete joy. “The grooms may kiss.”

And, they do, very passionately and gleefully.

The crowd cheers loudly, and even Soonyoung has a face-splitting grin. Seungcheol seems so cheerful. 

Though, Soonyoung isn’t smiling for long. From behind him, he hears rustling in the trees. His mind wants to write it off as woodland creatures but immediately knows that’s wrong when humanoid creatures begin descending from the trees on to the crowd.

In an instant, the cheers turn to shrieks as witches begin to flee into the safety of the woods. 

“Vampires,” Soonyoung hears Chan claim next to him. The other tugs on the sleeve of his robe. “We need to go.”

Soonyoung’s in such shock that he doesn’t even think his feet will work.  _ Why were vampires attacking them? Why are they terrorizing their peaceful ceremony?  _

He can’t even begin to comprehend the possible answers.

Looking to the pyre, Soonyoung searches for Seokmin but can’t spot him. Desperately, he hopes his friend escaped. 

Somehow, among the chaos, Soonyoung sees Jihoon at the center. Rather than looking terrified at the uninvited guests, he just looks irritated. 

From the bonfire, he summons a fiery scythe, cutting down surrounding vampires in annoyance. 

“Soonyoung!” Seungkwan snaps in panic. “If you’re done making heart-eyes at Lee Jihoon, I would like to not become vampire food.”

With that, they run off into the forest

 

****

 

Soonyoung  _ really  _ tries to stick close to his friends, but it’s difficult in the dark forest. None of them can see much, and the layout of the land is completely unfamiliar to them. 

Once again, Soonyoung hears rustling in the trees. 

“Guys,” he whispers to Seungkwan and Chan. “I think we’re being followed.”

Seungkwan stops in his tracks and considers the situation gravely. 

“I think our best chance of survival is running,” he utters darkly. Soonyoung thinks it’s the first time he’s ever heard Seungkwan speak so grimly. “If one of those bloodsuckers comes down from the trees, we all need to run in different directions. We’re easier to pick off if we’re in a pack. We’ll all run on my signal”

Chan nods in agreement, and before Soonyoung can voice his opinion, something thumps on the ground behind them. He feels almost too horrified to turn around and look, but he does anyway.

It’s most definitely a vampire, as apparent by the scarlet red eyes and sickly gray skin. 

“Did the poor kiddies lose their mommies?” it mocks them, swinging several stolen witches crystals on its index finger. Then, it dawns on Soonyoung. The vampires are hunting them for sport. 

They just glare at it in response. Each of them gathers up the energy and stamina to run away from it. 

“Now!” Seungkwan signals, causing each of them to rocket off in separate directions. 

Instantly, Soonyoung runs further into the dark forest as fast as he possibly can. He ignores his heart thumping heavily in his chest and the pain in his lungs. At any moment, he feels like he may trip, and it will be the end of him. 

Unfortunately, when his legs are the sorest, he hears footsteps chasing after him. Too engulfed in fear, he doesn’t notice one of the tree’s protruding roots in his path. He goes tumbling to the ground, scraping his chin against the rocky soil. 

Finally, the footsteps stop, and Soonyoung is too scared to turn around only to find a vampire looming over him. His heart beats wildly in his chest. 

Then suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he sees a bright light. When he lifts his head from the ground, he sees a figure with a fiery scythe, standing between him and the vampire. 

_ Jihoon _ , Soonyoung thinks. 

With one fell swoop, Jihoon cuts the vampire down with the scythe. It hisses in agony for a moment, before fading to dust and blowing away in the wind. 

The stolen crystals clatter to the ground. Soonyoung watches as Jihoon picks them up and walks back to the spot where he’s lying on the ground. 

Silently, he offers his hand to Soonyoung. 

In shock, Soonyoung just stares at the hand. 

“Yeah, it’s me, Mr. Condescending-Prick” Jihoon jokes with a somewhat fond look in his eyes. 

Soonyoung doesn’t even have the breath to respond. He just grabs Jihoon’s hand, pulling himself off the ground. 

For a moment, Jihoon stares at him, and Soonyoung averts his gaze, coughing into his hands awkwardly. 

“Thanks,” he mumbles, unsure of what else to say in this situation. 

“No problem,” Jihoon replies simply. Suddenly, there are more strange noises around them. In alertness, Jihoon grips his scythe tightly and defensively “We better get going, though. More of them could show up at any minute.”

Quietly, Soonyoung just nods in agreement. 

 

******

 

They wander silently for at least an hour, before stopping at a creek to rest for a moment. 

Overheating, Jihoon takes his robe off, revealing a dark red stain on the back his white button-up shirt. 

“You’re injured,” Soonyoung points out, immediately feeling a deep worry for Jihoon. He doesn’t even know the guy that well, but in Soonyoung’s book, anybody who would kill a vampire for him can’t be all that bad. 

“Am I?” Jihoon asks sincerely and looking over his shoulder, indicating he had no idea. He sees the blood on the back of his shoulder and grimaces as if he’s been mildly inconvenienced – as if a pigeon shit on his car. 

It baffles Soonyoung. He  _ really  _ doesn’t understand the guy. 

“I can–” Soonyoung begins but is cut off by strange rustling sounds. 

Instantly, Jihoon springs back to action. 

“Quickly,” he urges, grabbing his scythe and robe off the ground. “We can hide in that cave over there.”

Then, Jihoon grabs Soonyoung’s hand leading him along. Soonyoung was fully intending on following Jihoon, so he has no idea why the other feels the urge to  _ hold his hand _ . 

He opens his mouth to protest it, but instantly shuts it when he hears the rustling again. 

 

*****

 

When they enter the cave, Jihoon casts a forcefield spell at the entrance, blocking off all offending creatures. Soonyoung just watches him as he sits in the dirt and draws little symbols with his index finger. After a moment, Jihoon returns and takes a spot next to the other. 

The only light in the dark cave is Jihoon’s flaming scythe. 

“What now?” Soonyoung asks meekly, trying to mentally process the last few hours. In his meager three years of practicing magic, he’s never encountered any supernatural being as deadly as vampires. He remembers when magic seemed like a fun little parlor trick to show off to his friends. 

Now, he’s knee deep in the shit.

“We wait,” Jihoon answers simply, staring at Soonyoung yet again. Soonyoung would think the guy would get tired of looking at him, since they just spent the last hour together. “At dawn, we can leave and look for the others.”

Soonyoung looks up from the ground, catching Jihoon’s gaze. Yet again, Soonyoung can’t describe the expression Jihoon is wearing. 

He’s about to tell Jihoon to quit it, when he remembers the other’s injury. 

“Oh, right!” he exclaims, reaching in the pocket of his robe. Jihoon watches him quizzically the entire time. He pulls out a vial of sage. “It’s lucky I always keep this on me. You never know when you’ll need some sage.”

In confusion, Jihoon just cocks his head. It occurs to Soonyoung that Jihoon knows absolutely nothing about apothecary or healing magic. 

“I’m shocked,” Soonyoung gasps mockingly, clasping his palm to his chest in affrontation. “Mr. Know-It-All doesn’t know what sage is.”

Jihoon rolls his eyes and grumbles. 

“I never said I knew everything,” he mumbles in annoyance, wearing a sour look on his face. “You just heard about me from word of mouth and assumed you knew _who_ I was.”

Shame begins to course through Soonyoung’s body. He did assume a lot of things about Jihoon, simply because of silly rumors. In reality, he doesn’t really know Jihoon at all. All he knows about Jihoon is that he saved his life. 

And, it was time for him to somewhat repay the favor. 

“Take your shirt off,” Soonyoung instructs, uncapping the vial. 

In response, Jihoon begins to blush violently. 

“Why?!” he croaks, suddenly unable to meet Soonyoung’s gaze. 

_ So, that’s how I get him to stop staring _ , Soonyoung thinks. 

“Why do you think, you perv?!” Soonyoung snaps right back at him. “You still have a wound that needs to be treated!”

“Oh,” Jihoon voices dumbly, still bright red as he reaches for the buttons of his shirt. 

Soonyoung can see Jihoon’s fingers shaking as he unbuttons his shirt, slowly revealing his chest. There are white colored scars all across his torso. In between the flaps of cloth, Jihoon’s garnet crystal is gleaming against his pale skin. 

It’s weird, because Soonyoung should be thinking of the lesion on Jihoon’s back, but all he can think of is  _ feeling the other’s skin _ . Soonyoung has never been shy about being attracted to boys, but… being attracted to  _ Lee Jihoon  _ felt like something entirely different. 

He didn’t even want to consider it as a possibility. 

To further avoid Soonyoung’s gaze, Jihoon turns away from the other and slides his shirt off of his right shoulder, revealing his injury which complements the rest of the scars on his back. It appears to be two deep gashes created by none other than vampire fangs. 

“Holy shit,” Soonyoung murmurs under his breath. “Did they try to eat you?”

“One of them came at me from behind,” Jihoon explains, voice very shaky. The back of his neck is a deep red, standing out in contrast to his pale back. “I wonder how I didn’t notice the bite, though.”

“Probably because of adrenaline,” Soonyoung explains, wiping away the excess blood with his own robe. He presses the palm of his hand over the wound, causing Jihoon to wince slightly. “I’m going to cast a spell to stop the bleeding, alright? It’ll only sting for a moment.”

Jihoon nods his head in response, still refusing to look at Soonyoung. 

“ _ Bono malum superate, _ ” Soonyoung mutters, focusing his magical energy to his palms. 

Jihoon hisses under his breath. 

Then, the bleeding ceases, and all that is left of a reminder of the attack is the twin punctures. 

“Is that it?” Jihoon asks meekly, fully respecting that Soonyoung is more knowledgeable about this kind of magic than he is. 

“Not exactly,” Soonyoung responds, grabbing his vial of sage. “I need to extract any venom with the sage, otherwise you might go into shock.”

Lightly, Soonyoung tamps sage onto Jihoon’s lesions, allowing the herb to work naturally and draw out any damaging substances. For a moment, his fingers linger on the skin of Jihoon’s upper back. Mesmerized, Soonyoung somehow finds them trailing just a bit lower. He can hear Jihoon’s breathe hitch. As if burnt, he withdraws his fingers, trying to reason his behavior in his head. 

_ I’m just tired _ , Soonyoung thinks. 

Awkwardly, Soonyoung coughs into his fist, attempting to pretend that never happened. 

“Leave that on for an hour,” Soonyoung instructs, moving to resettle in his prior position. A bit confused, Jihoon begins buttoning his shirt back up with a look of disappointment on his face. 

 

******

 

_ Run.  _

_ They’ll catch you.  _

_ “Did the poor kiddies lose their mommies?” _

_ Run. Run. Run.  _

“Soonyoung!”

His eyes fly open. A very worried Jihoon is looming over him. He can feel himself sweating and shaking. 

“Are you alright?” the other asks softly, trying to be as gentle as possible to not startle Soonyoung. “I think you were having a nightmare.”

Still unsure of his surroundings, Soonyoung just blinks in response. After a moment, he gains his composure, wiping his sweaty palms against the material of his skinny jeans.

“Yeah,” he manages, his throat feeling very dry. “I-I guess I’m still shaken up about earlier.”

“Anyone would be,” Jihoon mutters gently, pushing Soonyoung’s sweaty bangs away from his forehead.

“You aren’t,” Soonyoung retorts, sitting up so his back is against the rock wall of the cave. 

Jihoon is silent for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face. 

“It’s hard for me to be shocked,” he admits, staring Soonyoung sincerely in the eye. “I’ve seen so many different things…”

Something about that vague statement causes a pang in Soonyoung’s heart. 

“I’m essentially my coven’s errand boy,” he confesses, now staring at his hands as he fidgets with them in his lap. “When there’s an entity on their radar they don’t want to deal with, they send me. I’m usually lucky to barely escape with a scratch.”

Dumbfounded, Soonyoung sits there in silence. He doesn’t know if the other’s scars could qualify as simply “a scratch.”

_ It must be a lonely existence,  _ Soonyoung thinks. 

They stay solemnly silent for a moment. 

“Can I rest my head against your shoulder?” Soonyoung asks bashfully. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Jihoon’s face flare red again. “I think I’d rest better knowing someone is there.”

“Y-yeah,” Jihoon stammers, face heating up even more when Soonyoung scoots close enough so the side of their thighs are touch. 

Soonyoung rests his head on the other’s shoulder and falls back asleep within minutes. 

 

******

 

When Soonyoung wakes up again, his head is cradled between Jihoon’s shoulder and his head. The other is snoring lightly. When he looks down, he sees Jihoon’s hand holding his. 

Just as he’s about to retract himself from the other, he hears a noise from outside the cave. 

_ An incantation _ . 

It could only be other witches. 

They survived the night. 

“Jihoon,” Soonyoung shakes the other awake. “I think it’s morning.”

Groggily, the other opens his eyes, only to see Soonyoung in such close proximity to him. He begins blushing yet again. 

When Jihoon hears footsteps approaching, he immediately goes on the defensive, reaching for his long-forgotten scythe. 

But, before he can even stand up, two familiar faces breach the area. 

“Soonyoung!” Seungcheol calls out in relief, rushing to the younger to hug him. “Thank god! You’re ok!”

When Seungcheol pulls away, Soonyoung can see tears in his eyes. In return, he feels his eyes beginning to wet as well. He doesn’t know what he would do if he lost Seungcheol or any of his friends. 

_ His friends. _

Soonyoung gasps. 

“Oh god,” he cries, feeling his heart beat violently. “Is everyone else ok? Seungkwan? Seokmin? Chan?”

“Yes,” Seungcheol assures him. “We found all of them. They’re all safe. We’ve just been looking for you guys. We all feared you might be dead”

Out of the corner of his eye, Soonyoung sees Jeonghan with his arm wrapped around Jihoon’s shoulder, rubbing his arm comfortingly. 

“Well, I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for Jihoon,” he explains, smiling gently at the other. When their eyes meet, the other’s hard expression immediately goes soft.

It wasn’t intentional, but when Jihoon smiles back at him, Soonyoung swears to god that his heart begins fluttering in his chest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ad fontes a capite ad calcem - "To the sources from head to heel"  
> Semper apertus - "Always open"  
> Hic sunt dracones igni ferroque - "Here there are dragons with fire and iron"  
> Nec metu, stet - "Without fear, let it stand"  
> Hinc itur ad astra, semper ad meliora - "From here the way leads to the stars, always towards better things."  
> Consummatum est! - "It is complete!"  
> Bono malum superate - "overcome evil with good"


	3. 21 years old

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer: Jinwoo doesn't represent anyone, just a random character to drive plot
> 
> this chapter is even longer than the first one wow. I don't really have anything other to say than "enjoy!"

**June 6, 2017**

 

It’s a bright, warm Tuesday afternoon. Soonyoung is helping Jeonghan hang damp laundry on the clothesline in their backyard. Honestly, Soonyoung is still surprised Jeonghan moved in with them. He fully expected Seungcheol to move from their commune, limiting the amount they could see him. 

Suddenly, there’s a loud crack from their neighbor’s yard, and Soonyoung instantly knows  _ who  _ it is. 

“Looks like your admirer is here,” Jeonghan snickers, completely ignoring Soonyoung’s glare. 

When Soonyoung glances over their white fence, he’s unsurprised to see none other than Lee Jihoon standing there, warding off Mrs. Kim’s nosy shih tzu

After the incident in the woods, Soonyoung begins to notice Jihoon is the Gwangju area a lot more often. Actually, he tends to pop in randomly, supposedly out on a mission. Although, last time Soonyoung checked, there wasn’t much magical activity in Gwangju to begin with. 

It’s why their predecessors chose to settle there. 

The less werewolves and demons to deal with, the better. 

But, apparently, they’re all over the place since the wedding. 

“Nugget is really interested in you,” Soonyoung mentions off-handedly, leaning over the fence as Jihoon uncooly tries to shoo the little yapping dog away. 

“Nugget is interested in the gargoyle bait,” Jihoon clarifies, scowl dissipating when Nugget sits down and watches him expectantly with those big brown eyes. He couldn’t stay mad at the little thing. 

Out of his pocket, Jihoon pulls out small chunks of raw meat and tosses them to the dog. 

“Please tell me gargoyle bait isn’t something I’m gonna regret watching you feed to a dog,” Soonyoung jokes, feeling really satisfied when Jihoon huffs a little laugh. 

“It’s just lamb,” he claims, letting Nugget lick his fingers. Then, he kneels down to pet the dog, fixated on the little creature. Eventually, Nugget flops on to the ground demanding a belly rub, and Jihoon simply couldn’t deny him.

After a moment, he glances up to find Soonyoung watching him and smiling. His face grows pink. 

He coughs. 

“How has Jeonghan-hyung been?” he asks, looking in Soonyoung’s general direction, but very obviously avoiding eye contact. 

Soonyoung doesn’t need to answer, because Jeonghan does for him. 

“I’m great,” he remarks, instantly leaning over the fence as well. He gives Jihoon a knowingly smile. “You could have asked me yourself, if you weren’t so preoccupied with Soonyoung to not notice my presence.”

In response, Jihoon glares at the other. 

“Our Jihoonie hasn’t changed one bit,” he coos dotingly. 

“I’m only a year younger than you,” the other points out in an almost whiny voice. “Don’t you have laundry to do or something?”

“Yeah, but so does Soonyoung,” Jeonghan teases. He considers sticking around to embarrass the other a little longer but decides against it when he sees exhale heavily through his nose in annoyance. “But! I suppose I’ll hang Seungkwan’s underwear by myself.”

Then, he disappears from sight, leaving just the two of them. 

It’s uncomfortably quiet for a moment. 

“Soooo…..” Soonyoung drawls awkwardly, patting his hands against the fence to distract himself from the silence. “Did you catch any gargoyles?”

“Huh?” Jihoon grunts dumbly. 

Soonyoung repeats his question. 

“Gargoyles?” the other mutters in confusion, genuinely unsure why Soonyoung was asking about  _ gargoyles _ . 

“Yeah. You know,” Soonyoung tries, starting to realize Jihoon has no clue what he’s talking about. In fact, Soonyoung isn’t even sure if Jihoon was ever actually hunting for gargoyles at all. “Those things you came here with raw lamb in your pocket for?”

“Oh right!” Jihoon laughs nervously, yet again evading Soonyoung’s gaze. “I haven’t been able to successfully capture one, but!”

Then, he begins digging around in his other pocket. After a second, he pulls out a what looks like a long scaly finger with a sharp talon. 

_ Maybe, this time it wasn’t an excuse _ , Soonyoung thinks. 

“I got one’s claw!” he exclaims proudly, beaming like a child who got his first ever “A” on a report card. Expectantly, Jihoon watches Soonyoung for his reaction, but embarrassingly shoves the appendage back in his pocket when the other only stares at him incredulously. 

Even two years later, he really doesn’t understand Lee Jihoon. 

“What are you going to do with it?” Soonyoung wonders out loud, really hoping the other won’t make it into a necklace or anything. It might be weird to have a slight crush on a guy who wears a severed gargoyle finger around his neck. 

“Dunno,” Jihoon shrugs, shoving both of his hands in his pockets. “I hear that gargoyle claws make great poison, but I suppose it just depends on what my father wants to do with it.”

Soonyoung grimaces, sincerely hoping Jihoon’s dad isn’t sending him out to hunt dangerous creatures for stupid poisons, or worse, no particular reason at all. 

“Did you get bitten or anything?” Soonyoung worries, biting at his thumbnail anxiously. “I can’t, in good concious, send you away if you’re injured.”

Jihoon averts his gaze again. 

“Not really,” he mumbles.”

Soonyoung purses his lips, knowing Jihoon is lying to him. 

“Bullshit,” Soonyoung spits, offering his hand over the fence to Jihoon. Bewildered, Jihoon just stares at it in shock. Soonyoung’s help shouldn’t be surprising anymore, but it still is. “Come on. I’ll patch you up. Besides, Mrs. Kim’s bound to come home any minute and wonder why a strange man in standing in her backyard and feeding her dog raw meat”

After a moment’s hesitation, Jihoon takes the other’s hand, scaling the fence to the other side. 

The entire time, Soonyoung can’t help but notice how clammy the other’s palms are. 

 

******

 

Even though it makes the atmosphere even more awkward than before, Soonyoung brings Jihoon up to his bedroom. It’s not as if he hasn’t played doctor and tended to Jihoon on his unannounced visits before, but usually he does a simple spell in the garden and sends the other on his way. 

But, Gargoyles are tricky creatures though, and any wound can quickly become an issue if not treated with proper care.

He instructs Jihoon to sit on his bed, and reluctantly, the other does so. 

“So, where are you hurt?” Soonyoung asks with his back turned as he rummages in his dresser for his potions and herbs. 

“A couple of them bit me on the leg as I was trying to run from their nest,” he answers almost shamefully. Though Soonyoung doesn’t know this, Jihoon really hates when he gets injured, because it only causes the other to worry about him. “But, the bleeding isn’t that bad.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Soonyoung snorts, turning around with several small vials in hand to face Jihoon. Kneeling down in front of the other, Soonyoung directs Jihoon to roll his left pant leg up to his knee, revealing a few sets of bite marks around his calf his calf. Soonyoung frowns at the lesion, causing Jihoon’s heart to pang with unwarranted guilt. 

Soonyoung sucks in a deep breath as he realizes just how bad the wounds are. Those gargoyles  _ really  _ didn’t want Jihoon to leave their nest. In fact, Soonyoung can’t believe he didn’t notice the blood as soon as Jihoon arrived. Apparently, the other wore jeans just dark enough to hide the blood. 

“I really  _ can’t _ understand why you do this,” Soonyoung mumbles under his breath as he wipes away the blood with an old towel, not entirely meaning for the other to hear it. 

“Do what?” Jihoon asks, wincing as the fabric brushes against his sensitive injury. 

Instead of answering, Soonyoung utters an incantation to stop the bleeding. Though, Soonyoung isn’t sure if he even needs to answer, because he’s pretty sure Jihoon knows what he’s talking about. 

Even if the other won’t admit it.

They both remain tensely silent as Soonyoung focuses on the task at hand, preparing an infusion to spread on the wound. 

“It’s not as if I can really do anything else,” Jihoon says, staring at Soonyoung as the other works diligently. For a moment, Soonyoung stops what he’s doing and looks up at Jihoon, gazing into the other’s solemn eyes. “I’ve only ever really known is black magic. All I know is how to fight.”

At a loss for words, Soonyoung just stares at Jihoon, until the other coughs into his hand and breaks eye contact. 

“Your infusion is bubbling out of the bottle,” he mentions sheepishly. 

“Oh fuck!” 

Dropping the subject, Soonyoung turns his attention to the aforementioned infusion, using it to finish healing Jihoon. 

 

******

 

**July 3, 2017**

Soonyoung hasn’t seen Jihoon for nearly a month, and he starts to wonder if perhaps he wandered unwelcomely into some restricted territory last time Jihoon came over. Maybe, he shouldn’t have questioned Jihoon or his coven’s way of life. 

Jihoon has never questioned Soonyoung why he practices healing magic. 

But then again, Soonyoung’s never been hurt making potions and medicines before. 

After a week or so of not seeing Jihoon, Soonyoung decides not to dote on it. In fact, he’s too busy with the High Priestess’ summer chores to even begin to wonder where Jihoon could possibly be. Chores vary from harvesting herbs to removing curses from teenagers who played with the wrong kind of magic. 

Today, she’s sent him out to deliver to the locals. Not many humans believe in the power of magic, but they deliver to the select few who do. Typically, they receive orders from skeptics, desperate for a cheap alternative to traditional medicine. 

And, they’re more than happy to deliver that. The High Priestess doesn’t want money. She wants humans to stop having such a negative view of witches.

So, every now and then, Soonyoung mounts his broom and soars over Gwangju, delivering their healing herbs and potions. This is one chore he doesn’t mind, because he especially enjoys feeling the wind in his hair and the sun on his back as he’s in flight. 

After delivering old Mrs. Kang potions for her cataracts and arthritis, Soonyoung finally reaches the last house on his route. As he lands on the neatly kept grass, Soonyoung is slightly nervous. This is their first time delivering to Mr. Shin, and Soonyoung wants to make a good impression.

When he rings the doorbell, Soonyoung waits patiently on the doorstep of this man’s quaint little house, fidgeting with his hands. 

Finally, the door swings open, revealing a curious man with thin frame glasses. He can’t be any older than his mid-20s and is surprisingly fit. Usually, their customers tend to be older and in worse health. When the man quirks his eyebrow, Soonyoung realizes he’s been silently staring for just a little too long.

“May I help you?” the man says, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame. He’s got  _ biceps _ . Why would he ever need their potions?

“A-are you Mr. Shin?” Soonyoung stutters, now skittishly gripping the strap of his burlap bag. 

The man squints at him. 

“Who’s asking?”

“Me. I’m asking,” Soonyoung dumbly repeats, causing the man to grimace in annoyance. The man begins to shut the door before Soonyoung shouts for his attention. “Wait! I have your potions!”

Instantly, he stops in his track, meeting Soonyoung’s eyes. His face splits into a wide grin, much unlike the scowl he was wearing just a second ago. 

“Well, why didn’t you say so!” he responds gleefully, staring at Soonyoung with an unrecognizable look in his eyes. “Sorry for my rude attitude. I thought you might be a marketer.”

Soonyoung’s head is spinning at the change in the other’s behavior, but eventually he laughs it off. 

“I understand, sir,” Soonyoung sighs in relief, digging around in his bag for Mr. Shin’s package. “We get quite a few of those. I keep asking our boss to let us hex them, but she doesn’t really appreciate the joke.”

Finally, Soonyoung finds the unmarked package, turning his attention back to Mr. Shin who has an… interesting look on his face. Soonyoung’s not sure what he would characterize it as. 

It’s almost one of want. 

“So, you’re an actual witch?” Mr. Shin questions excitedly, leaning in a little closer to Soonyoung. “Does that mean you’re casting a spell right now?”

Soonyoung cocks his head. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean,” Mr. Shin says in a playful and teasing tone, “that I think you’re pretty cute. Are you sure you’re not just playing with my head?”

Instantly, Soonyoung flushes. He’s really not sure how to respond. Sure, this man was attractive, but humans don’t tend to flirt with Soonyoung… especially not humans on his delivery route. The closet he ever gets to flirting is when Jihoon will blush if Soonyoung so much as even looks at him. In the pit of his stomach, Soonyoung finds it pretty satisfying that other people out there find him attractive. 

“I guarantee you I’m not,” Soonyoung giggles, bashfully offering the other the package. “Here are your potions, Mr. Shin.”

“You can call me Jinwoo,” the guy smirks, brushing Soonyoung’s hand as he takes the parcel. He smiles in a way that makes Soonyoung’s heart skip a beat. “I hope to see you again next time.”

Soonyoung was definitely going to make that happen. 

 

****

 

**July 17, 2017**

 

For the past couple of weeks, Soonyoung has been deliberating switching shifts with some of the other witches just to be able to deliver to Jinwoo. He’s never met a human so kind and witty before. And.. if he happens to flirt with Soonyoung (like he always does), Soonyoung really doesn’t mind that. 

After a long day of deliveries, Soonyoung lays in bed staring at the ceiling. He begins to drift off to sleep when he hears a tapping noise against his window. Sitting up and opening his eyes, he silently watches the window for a moment.

A rock comes flying at it. 

He rushes over to see who in the hell might be throwing rocks from his back garden this close to midnight. When he opens his window and looks down, he sees a familiar patch of black hair. 

“Jihoon?” Soonyoung whispers so as to not wake the neighbors. 

“Yes,” Jihoon hisses, holding his side and hunching over. Soonyoung  _ knows  _ the other is hurt. “Please let me in.”

“What happened?” Soonyoung asks in concern as he slips on his robe. 

“Got shot,” Jihoon groans in pain, and Soonyoung’s eyes instantly fly wide open. This was  _ bad.  _ Tears well up in his eyes. 

“Stay right there,” Soonyoung says hurriedly, then rushing out of room and down the stairs. When he opens the back door, Jihoon is standing there clutching his side. 

Slowly, so as to not cause Jihoon anymore pain, Soonyoung helps Jihoon into the house and up the stairs. As they make their ascent, Soonyoung tries to be as quiet as possible to not awake the sleeping house. A bullet in Jihoon’s side would just cause a panicked frenzy and that’s the last thing he needs right now. 

When they get to the bedroom, Jihoon collapses on the bed, wincing in pain at the contact. Soonyoung slowly peels the other’s bomber jacket back to reveal a relatively small stain of blood on the right side of his white t-shirt. For some reason, Soonyoung was expecting a lot more. 

Soonyoung lifts up the other’s shirt, finding no open wound. 

“You’ve just been grazed,” Soonyoung sighs in relief, nearly in tears from worrying. After a moment, the relief washes away and is taken over by irritation. He slaps Jihoon on the shoulder, glaring at the other. “Why did you tell me you were shot?! I was afraid you might die!”

“Technically, I was shot,” Jihoon replies smartly, sticking out his tongue at the other. Then, his face becomes very serious. “Would you really miss me that much?”

Distracted from examining the injury, Soonyoung looks at the other with a very tearful expression. 

“Of course, I would,” Soonyoung breathes, feeling as if he might choke at any moment. “Believe it or not, I’m actually pretty fond of you.”

Jihoon looks at Soonyoung very meaningfully and opens his mouth as if he was going to say something, then immediately closes it. 

It’s silent for a moment as Soonyoung cleans the wound. 

“What was it this time?” he asks quietly, refusing to look Jihoon in the eye. 

There’s no need for clarification. Jihoon innately understands what the other is talking about. 

“Witch hunters,” Jihoon seethes. When Soonyoung glances up at Jihoon’s face, he fully expects a mild annoyance, but instead he gets fury. There’s a fire in Jihoon’s eyes -- something Soonyoung hasn’t seen in nearly 6 years. He continues. “They’ve set up operations in this area. I don’t trust humans. All they wanna do is string us up and burn us!”

Soonyoung feels a bit of irritation welling up in his stomach, because he  _ knows _ not all humans have harmful intentions. He thinks of Mrs. Kang who just wants to watch dramas on the couch with her cats. He thinks of Jinwoo who always gives him a compliment and tips him extra even though he doesn’t have to. 

“Not  _ all _ humans are bad,” Soonyoung snaps. “And, it’s very narrow-minded for you to assume so. That’s just like people assuming they know who you are.”

Jihoon twists his face into a scowl. 

“Just like  _ you  _ did,” he accuses. “Besides, why are you siding with the humans? Most of them want you dead anyway.”

“So did the vampires, but I don’t hate all vampires!”

Jihoon screws his eyes closed breathing deeply. 

“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” he admits. Soonyoung’s expression immediately softens. “You’re very special to me. I’d be devastated if anything happened to you.”

With that, Soonyoung presses his hand against Jihoon’s side, focusing all his magical energy. The wound on his side disappears, leaving another faint pink scar. 

“Thanks, but you don’t have to worry about me,” Soonyoung tells him, noticing all the little intricate details of his stomach. The way his happy trail peeks out from his black skinny jeans. The way a little bit of pudge hangs out over said jeans… The way Jihoon’s breath hitches when Soonyoung’s been staring for too long. He snaps out of his stupor, staring at Jihoon with a determined gaze in his eyes. “I’m a grown-ass adult, just like you are.”

 

******

 

**July 18, 2017**

 

The next day, all Soonyoung can think of during his delivery route is Jihoon. Once again, he realizes he still doesn’t understand much about the guy. Soonyoung  _ knows _ some humans hunt witches, but that’s a very select few of the population. 

_ Though, _ Soonyoung thinks as he dodges a pigeon in the air.  _ Jihoon doesn’t seem like the type to trust many people.  _

As soon as Soonyoung touches down in Jinwoo’s yard, thoughts of Jihoon go away.  _ Why should he care so much about what Jihoon thinks?  _

Significantly less nervous than he was the first time he approached this doorstep, Soonyoung rings the doorbell and waits patiently. After a second, Jinwoo opens it, beaming when he sees Soonyoung standing there, potions in hand. 

“This is the best part of my day,” he purrs, caressing Soonyoung’s hand as he takes his items. Like a school boy, Soonyoung immediately goes pink in the face and starts giggling under his breath. 

“Oh, it’s no big deal,” Soonyoung tries to shrug off nonchalantly. “They’re just potions.”

“I meant you,” the other utters lowly, trapping Soonyoung in his gaze. There’s a heavy pause between them. “Would you like to go out with me on Friday night?”

Soonyoung can feel his palms sweating and his heart beating. 

“S-Sure…”

_ What was it Jihoon was saying about not trusting humans? _

 

******

 

**July 20, 2018**

 

Again, Jihoon shows up at Soonyoung’s house. Thankfully, this time he doesn’t have a bullet wound, but rather some minor burns on his palms from a hellhound. Silently, Soonyoung rubs sage and mint infusion on his hands and completely trying to ignore the other all together. 

Neither of them talk. 

Frankly, Soonyoung isn’t sure what to say… but apparently Seungkwan is. 

“Hey, Soonie!” he shouts approaching the doorway, unaware of Jihoon’s presence. “Seokmin told me you have a date with that one human! Should we have the birds and bees– .”

When he sees Jihoon sitting on Soonyoung’s bed with a very annoyed look on his face, he instantly freezes and blanches. Anybody who’s spent more than two seconds watching Jihoon and Soonyoung interacting  _ knows _ Jihoon has a huge ass crush on the other. 

Then, Soonyoung glares at Seungkwan for mentioning his date in front of Jihoon.

“What’s that, Jeonghan?!” Seungkwan shouts down the hall. In the distance, Soonyoung can hear Jeonghan shout “What the fuck are talking about?!”

“I gotta go,” Seungkwan rushes away. “It’s been nice seeing you, Jihoon!”

After Seungkwan leaves, the room is tense, and Soonyoung can  _ feel _ the negative energy radiating off Jihoon. 

“Does that feel better?” Soonyoung asks, wrapping Jihoon’s hand in cloth bandages. 

And, like an absolute twat, Jihoon snatches his hand away from the other. 

“Whatever,” he mumbles dismissively, scowling in every direction but Soonyoung’s. 

Soonyoung sighes, rolling his eyes. 

“Are you going to act like a 5 year old from now on?” he groans, really not wanting to deal with a passive aggressive Lee Jihoon. “I’m allowed to go on dates, you know.”

Jihoon mumbles something under his breath that Soonyoung can’t hear. 

“I’m sorry. What was that, asshole?” 

“I said!” Jihoon raises his voice significantly louder, finally expressing the feeling he’s been holding in. He’s staring at Soonyoung now. His voice begins to shake. “I don’t understand why you’re going out with a human. W-When… When…”

“When I could be going out with you?” Soonyoung finishes, watching at Jihoon incredulously. Instantly, Jihoon looks away, now staring at his shoes. That’s the only answer Soonyoung needs. “I know you like me. You make it very obvious. And, I want to like you too, but I really don’t like that you’ve already decided all humans are bad.”

For a moment, Jihoon is speechless. 

“I don’t think all humans are bad,” he states very clearly. “I just don’t trust them. They haven’t really given me a reason to.”

With that, he stands up, digging around in his pocket until he pulls out a shining garnet. He slaps it down onto Soonyoung’s dresser. 

“If you get into trouble, call me,” he spits bitterly, bumping Soonyoung’s shoulder on his way out. 

For some reason, Soonyoung wants to cry after Jihoon leaves. 

 

*****

 

**July 21, 2017**

“What’s wrong?” Jinwoo asks, as they stand in the concession line. He bumps Soonyoung’s shoulder playfully. 

They’ve decided to see a movie, but Soonyoung gets the sneaking suspicion that all he’ll be able to think about is Jihoon. 

“It’s just that…” Soonyoung trails, trying to figure out a good way to explain this. There’s no good way to say ‘my friend who’s probably been in love with me for 2 years is jealous I’m going on a date with you’ to your date. Yet again, Jinwoo playfully bumps his shoulder against Soonyoung’s. 

“Come ooon,” he coaxes.

They move up a spot in line. 

“I had a fight with my friend,” Soonyoung admits, feeling selfish and childish when he voices it out loud. Here he is on a date with a handsome man, and all he can think of is Lee Jihoon. “He found out about my date with you and got mad. He doesn’t think I should trust humans.”

Comfortingly, Jinwoo wraps his arm around Soonyoung. 

“Your friend seems like an asshole,” he says bluntly. “Maybe, he wasn’t your friend to begin with if he doesn’t want you to be happy.”

“Maybe…” Soonyoung considers. 

As they stand in line together, Soonyoung can’t help but feel a strange object in Jinwoo’s jacket pocket poking him in the side. 

 

******

 

**Later That Evening.**

They get out of the movie at about midnight. Soonyoung expects Jinwoo to take him home but realizes that’s not the case when they pass the commune while driving down the street. 

“Where are we going?” Soonyoung asks nervously, hearing Jihoon’s voice in the back of his mind. In his jacket pocket, he clutches the crystal Jihoon gave him tightly. 

“I just wanna park somewhere and talk,” the other answers simply and innocently… almost too innocently. 

As dumb as it is, Soonyoung  _ really  _ doesn’t want to admit Jihoon was right, so he just stays silent. 

About 5 minutes later, they park in the parking lot of an abandoned shopping center. Very still, Soonyoung sits there, unsure of what he should do. Then, Jinwoo leans over real close, putting his arm around Soonyoung. 

_ He probably just wants to makeout _ , Soonyoung thinks, now clutching Jihoon’s garnet so tightly that the sharp edges of it begin digging into the flesh of his palm. 

Jinwoo leans over and sniffs his neck, placing a small kiss on his pulse. Soonyoung flinches, still thinking of Jihoon. From the way they are position, Soonyoung can see into Jinwoo’s jacket pocket. For a moment, he wonders what the shiny steel object could be. 

Then, it hits him like a ton of bricks. 

_ It’s a gun _ . 

Soonyoung swallows thickly, feeling his heartbeat in his throat. 

_ Oh fuck _ , he thinks.  _ Jihoon was right. _

“Why do you have a gun in your pocket?” Soonyoung asks with a shaking voice, reaching for the door handle. 

Jinwoo stops his ministrations, pulling away from Soonyoung. 

“You really should’ve listened to your friend,” he says in a sinister voice, pulling out the gun and aiming it at Soonyoung.

At that moment, Soonyoung pulls on the handle but to no avail. Jinwoo has locked the doors. 

“You don’t need to do this,” Soonyoung tries to reason, feeling his entire body shaking. 

“What  _ you people _ do is unnatural,” he barks back, completely different from the person Soonyoung had gotten to know over the past few weeks. A wolf in sheep’s clothing was pointing a gun at him right now, and  _ Jihoon was completely right _ . 

“What about all those potions we gave you?” Soonyoung tries, gripping Jihoon’s crystal so tightly, just wishing for him to show up. “Didn’t those help you?”

“I flushed all of those down the toilet as soon as you left!” he snaps, looking at Soonyoung as if he were the dirt underneath his shoe. “I only ordered from your weird little cult so I could lure one of you away.”

Soonyoung  _ really _ wants to cry now. He realizes all the compliments and flirting has been a ruse to trap him. Even as an adult, how could he be so naive? No matter how much good in the world his coven tries to do, there are still people who are going to hate him just because he inherited these powers. 

He stays deathly quietly, screwing his eyes shut as he hears Jinwoo cock the hammer. Hot tears slip down his face, and he thinks of Jihoon. The way he smiles shyly at the stupid things Soonyoung’s says. The way he would make up excuses  _ just _ to come see Soonyoung. The way he fearless stood between him and a murderous vampire. 

Then, there’s a tap on the driver side window. 

At that moment, it’s like angels from heaven began singing, because Soonyoung opens his eyes to find no other than  _ Lee Jihoon _ , the monster slayer himself, with a fiery look in his eyes, wearing a leather jacket… like he intentionally wanted to look cool.

“Miss me, asshole?” Jihoon asks smoothly, opening a portal directly underneath Jinwoo. Without a chance to escape, Jinwoo falls into the portal, giving Soonyoung a chance to unlock the doors and get out of the car. He runs to the other side to embrace Jihoon, but stops when he sees another portal open mid air, dropping Jinwoo face down onto the pavement. 

The latter lets out a low groan of pain that is immediately cut off as the concrete around his body starts to raise out of the ground and wrap around his body, securing him in place. With an intense look in his eyes, Jihoon approaches the other, pressing his boot against the side of his face. 

“Let me tell you something, jerk,” Jihoon hisses, putting a lot of force into his right foot. He points back at Soonyoung. “That guy’s probably never even hurt a bug before. In fact, he  _ actually _ makes and delivers potions to the sick and elderly. He’s a talented apothecary, and he’s actually one of the good ones.”

Then, he gets closer to Jinwoo’s face, conjuring a fireball in his hand. Jinwoo’s eyes fly wide as the flames flicker directly in front of his face. 

“But,  _ I’m  _ not,” Jihoon states very clearly. There’s that same dark look Soonyoung has seen before. “I’ve seen things you could never even imagine. I’ve fought and  _ killed _ demons who eat humans like you for breakfast.”

Jihoon slightly backs away, distancing the fire and Jinwoo’s face. 

“Frankly, I don’t really care if you live or die,” Jihoon claims bluntly. He points at Soonyoung again. “But, he probably does, even after you  _ fucking pulled a gun on him _ . So, I’ll spare you your life.”

Jinwoo audibly breathes a sigh of relief. 

“But!” Jihoon continues vehemently, fire flaring as bright as it’s ever been. “If you pull this shit again and try hunting Soonyoung  _ or any other witch _ , I will find you.”

With that, Jihoon removes his boot, getting in one good kick to the face before he walks away. 

His threatening, aloof face immediately disappears when he approaches Soonyoung, quickly replaced by concern and relief. 

“Are you hurt anywhere?” he asks, inspecting Soonyoung for any wounds or bruises. “I mean, I can’t do anything about any injuries, but I can encourage you as you do.”

Still shaking and bewildered by what just happened, Soonyoung tries to speak but can’t find the voice to do so. Comfortingly, Jihoon wraps his arm around Soonyoung. It feels so  _ right _ . 

Jihoon shushes him when he tries to speak again but only manages stutters. 

“You don’t have to speak right now,” he speaks soothingly, opening another portal which Soonyoung assumes is to his house. “There’s no pressure.”

When they arrive in Soonyoung’s back garden, everything that just happened hits him like a ton of bricks. He begins sobbing uncontrollably. 

He could’ve  _ died _ . 

Jihoon just hushes him, rubbing his back as he leads him into the house and up the stairs. 

Finally, they reach Soonyoung’s bedroom, and Jihoon lays him down on the bed. He begins to get up to leave, but Soonyoung tugs on his sleeve. When Jihoon glances down and sees Soonyoung’s wet eyes, he feels anger burn in his heart. Soonyoung has never wronged anybody, and it’s so cruel somebody would want to wrong him.

“Will you stay the night?” Soonyoung pleads, his face red and puffy. “I’d rest better knowing someone is there.”

“Of course,” Jihoon mumbles softly, relaxing on the bed next to Soonyoung. The other buries his face into the crook of the other’s neck and continues crying. 

Throughout the night, Jihoon just holds him. 

 

*******

 

**August 18, 2017**

 

Soonyoung rushes to get ready, not wanting to keep his date waiting. Safely, he tucks Jihoon’s crystal in his pocket as a good luck charm, puts on his baseball jacket, then he’s flying down the stairs and out the door. 

Sitting in the back garden, Jihoon is holding Nugget in his lap, playing with the energetic shitzu. Soonyoung smiles to himself. 

“Why is Nugget in my yard and not Mrs. Kim’s?” he playfully scolds with no real bite. 

Jihoon looks up, beaming when he sees the other. 

“I’m just borrowing him,” he hums, cooing at Nugget as he begins to run around him in circles. “He’s quite entertaining.”

Soonyoung scoops Nugget up in his arms, and he tries to squirm away. 

“We can’t keep him,” Soonyoung retorts, using a levitation spell to lift Nugget in the air. 

Confused, he wiggles his little legs around, yipping wildly. 

Soonyoung lands him safely on the other side of the fence in Mrs Kim’s yard. 

When he turns around, Jihoon is standing and brimming with excitement. 

“Are you ready?” Soonyoung asks, pulling his broom out from its hiding spot underneath the bushes. 

Enthusiastically, Jihoon nods his head, smiling sweetly at Soonyoung. It makes Soonyoung’s heart want to skip a beat. 

They mount the broom with Soonyoung steering. Jihoon both of Jihoon’s legs are dangling off the side as they begin to float in the air. Increasing in altitude, Jihoon begins to cheekily poke at Soonyoung’s sides to get a rise out of him. While they’re soaring over Gwangju, Jihoon begins to pinch Soonyoung’s waist. 

As soon as Soonyoung turns his body to tell Jihoon to quit it, the other grabs his face and kisses him. Soonyoung  _ swears _ every time Jihoon kisses him feels like the first time all over again. 

“You’re a prick,” Soonyoung mumbles under his breath, not really meaning it. Actually, he loves every single second he gets to spend with Jihoon. 

“You know you love me,” Jihoon huffs smugly, resting his chin on Soonyoung’s shoulder. 

“Yeah… I guess I do.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i worked so hard on this chapter, so kudos/comments would be much appreciated!
> 
> there will be an epilogue chapter bc yall need to see witch soonhoon get married
> 
> happy holidays everyone! *goblin voice* (stream getting closer)

**Author's Note:**

> please leave kudos and comments because i love them. also, if you wanna hmu on twitter (@gothsoonhoon) where i post about my fics that would be cool too.


End file.
